Detective and mystery stories, English; Police -- Fiction; Short stories
Tally-ho, and that the letter would be posted presently. In about an
hour or so, out came the little girl again, with the letter in her hand.
I went up, and said something to the child, whatever it might have been;
but I couldn't see the direction of the letter, because she held it with
the seal upwards. However, I observed that on the back of the letter
there was what we call a kiss--a drop of wax by the side of the
seal--and again, you understand, that was enough for me. I saw her post
the letter, waited till she was gone, then went into the shop, and asked
to see the Master. When he came out, I told him, 'Now, I'm an Officer in
the Detective Force; there's a letter with a kiss been posted here just
now, for a man that I'm in search of; and what I have to ask of you is,
that you will let me look at the direction of that letter.' He was very
civil--took a lot of letters from the box in the window--shook 'em out
on the counter with the faces downwards--and there among 'em was the
identical letter with the kiss. It was directed, Mr. Thomas Pigeon,
Post-Office, B----, to be left 'till called for. Down I went to B---- (a
hundred and twenty miles or so) that night. Early next morning I went to
the Post-Office; saw the gentleman in charge of that department; told
him who I was; and that my object was to see, and track, the party that
should come for the letter for Mr. Thomas Pigeon. He was very polite,
and said, 'You shall have every assistance we can give you; you can wait
inside the office; and we'll take care to let you know when anybody
comes for the letter.' Well, I waited there three days, and began to
think that nobody ever _would_ come. At last the clerk whispered to me,'
Here! Detective! Somebody's come for the letter!' 'Keep him a minute,'
said I, and I ran round to the outside of the office. There I saw a
young chap with the appearance of an Ostler, holding a horse by the
bridle--stretching the bridle across the pavement, while he waited at
the Post-Office Window for the letter. I began to pat the horse, and
that; and I said to the boy, 'Why, this is Mr. Jones's Mare!' 'No. It
an't.' 'No?' said I. 'She's very like Mr. Jones's Mare!' 'She an't Mr.
Jones's Mare, anyhow,' says he. 'It's Mr. So-and-So's, of the Warwick
Arms.' And up he jumped, and off he went--letter and all. I got a cab,
followed on the box, and was so quick after him that I came into the
stable-yard of the Warwick Arms, by one gate, just as he came in by
another. I went into the bar, where there was a young woman serving, and
called for a glass of brandy and water. He came in directly, and handed
her the letter. She casually looked at it, without saying anything, and
stuck it up behind the glass over the chimney-piece. What was to be done
next?
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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